A/N: How shall I start this? I had wanted to do a story that showed the entire relationship of Hades and Persephone. I changed the names, Hades is known as Abel and Cora is Persephone, of course, considering that is another name used for her. Demeter is the same, and there are new characters and such. I wanted to make this more of my story, so I would only hope you enjoy it.
"Cora!" A woman called out. Her silk, peach dress was fitted around her securely, while the excess of it was billowing behind her as her feet crossed the pathway onto the road of her garden. "Cora, where are you?" Her heart was beating extravagantly fast in her chest, for if she lost her daughter...Oh! How her heart wrenched at the thought.
Finally, there was a sound, a call that rang out like a bell. It was a sweet ring to that voice that only belonged to her beautiful daughter. "I am over here mother," a woman appeared from behind the small house they lived in. Beautiful blonde hair fell gently down her shoulders; her vivid blue eyes sparkled with curiosity and amazement. A shy and gentle smile appeared on her soft pink lips as her mother approached her. She giggled, "Why mother, it's as if you've seen a ghost!"
A playful glare came across the mother's face, "Hush child! You know I worry about you." Cora's mother, Demeter, huffed, and brushed her delicate, dark brown hair, from her own face. "Now come along, there are plenty of things we must do."
Cora sighed softly, "But mother, how I would love to stay and pick some flowers in the field. May I, please?"
"Perhaps tonight my dear, but until then, please, come and help me." Displeased with her mother's decision, Cora silently followed behind her mother, but her legs itched to run ahead and scamper about the place. Cora was much like a child, but her beauty was beyond childlike. Cora was at the tender age of 19, and she basked in her beauty. Of course, with beauty, there comes a price. Many suitors approached dear Cora, but none of them were accepted by her mother. Despite the pleasant gifts they brought to swoon the woman, they were all refused; each of the men returning to their homes, humiliated by their defeat against mother-earth.
Demeter was quite the woman. She was overly-protective of her dear daughter, for she was the only thing she had left. Though she was growing much like a weed would, her personality was still as innocent as a ripe fruit. That is why she cared for her daughter so; afraid that someone may take advantage of that innocent part of her child.
Before they entered the town, Demeter hid her face with a simple piece of silk she had brought along with her on the journey, hiding her hair behind the cover for her head. Cora, on the other hand, remained with it off, allowing her beauty to shine. Perhaps she enjoyed the attention from the people around her, or perhaps she was completely oblivious to the fact that she was beautiful, whatever it was she didn't dislike the stares from people. She bended as branches would with a tree when the wind was blowing. She was quite easy to please.
They both sauntered, side by side, into the marketplace. A crowd of people were scrambling to get the ripest of vegetables and fruit, but Demeter seemed to have an eye for such cases. "Look how fresh and ripe these," she smiled while fingering a beautiful red tomato, which had been missed beyond the unripe ones around it. "Well good evening Mistress Demeter, out for another walk without your Daughter, I see. Has she perhaps remained back at your cottage to play amongst the flowers?"
Demeter, suddenly realizing the words the woman from behind the stand spoke, dropped thee tomato back into its original crate, and turned around, her eyes searching for her daughter. A speckle of gold hair was produced from the crowed, and there stood her daughter holding an arm full of fruit.
"I found some lovely apples and oranges mother. Are they ripe enough? I've told the caretakers of these fruit that I would return them rather quickly if they are not what it was that you were looking for."
Demeter sighed in relief, but she couldn't help her cheeks from reddening in anger. Not wanting to cause a scene, she looked through the batch of fruit her daughter had, and handed her the money silently. Cora stared at her mother momentarily before she turned to scamper off to pay for the delicious fruits.
Demeter went back to her searching, not as excited as she had been. "She seems like she can be a hand full, can't she." The woman behind the stand did not phrase it as a question as Demeter would expect. Instead it was almost as if she knew and could understand, from a mother's point of view. "They must grow up of course," the woman said, cleaning her hands thoughtfully with a rag, "For they are bound to grow up eventually."
"I suppose you are right." Demeter sighed, placing the ripest of tomatoes into her basket. From the bosom of her dress she pulled out some money and replaced it back. There, she handed it to the woman in front of her, "Thank you for your wonderful tomatoes, we should have a great dinner tonight." A pleasant and motherly smile crossed the woman's face, taking the money into her hands, and into a pouch that held her collections of the day. Demeter turned, and walked off in the direction her daughter had. It was to her surprise that Cora was already approaching Demeter, smiling brightly with delight.
She pulled up beside her mother and disposed of the fruits inside the basket. "Tell me Cora, why is it your so happy?"
Cora giggled in delight, placing her hands behind her back. "Oh, nothing in particular mother. Just the boys." Her head cocked to the side, looking back at her mother. She saw the unhappy look upon her face, and she began frowning as well. "Mother, please do not be so angry with them. They've done nothing to hurt me, you and I both know they've been nothing but nice to us."
Demeter sighed, whilst looking at her daughter's saddened face. Perhaps she had been too hard, but she didn't want them to take her precious daughter away. "I do the things I do only for you. My life would be filled with nothing but barren land without you my precious one. You must understand that." Demeter reached out and patted her daughter on the cheek and began to walk away, into the crowd, only knowing to well that her daughter would follow her like a small lost sheep. Cora was always dependant on her mother, so she never got the chance to grow up, only because Demeter constantly pampered her with streams of love. Deep inside, Cora did indeed want to grow up, but with the slight fear of the outside word, she remained cocooned up in the warmth of her mother's arms. She did not dare wander far from her mother; though for a young woman of Cora's age, she should have been married off at once, but she was never able to because of the obstacle, her mother.
Cora harbored a deep secret within her, but never dared speak it out loud to her mother. Of course she was grateful for everything her mother has done, and she wouldn't have it any other way then to stay in that moment of happiness, but somewhere deep inside of her, she wanted to feel the pain of the real world. She wanted to express fondness over a man that would allow her to take his arm and walk about the streets along with him.
Unbeknownst to the two women walking along the crowded streets, there was a man watching Cora. In the depths of the shadows, the eyes of evilness followed her every move. He had watched her for a long while. He watched her never changing innocence and her carefree personality. His feelings grew to a point where they were insuppressible. How he longed to see her face when she became tainted. A smile played upon his face as he watched the fragile girl disappear from his sight.
His ash-mauve eyes moved from the area from which he stared at and then flitted to the spot next to him. In this dark alley there seemed to be a presence, a presence he knew all too well, though he was preoccupied with the lovely and innocent Cora. The silent silhouette appeared behind the man, and pale arms reached over the young man's shoulder, and enveloped him in a hug. The young man stiffened beneath the touch, and a light growl lashed out from his throat.
"Eleazar, I would only hope that this is some new type of greeting you have created." The man snarled as his friend's hands moved down his chest playing with the buttons of his shirt.
The man, Eleazar, chuckled in the man's ear. His pale, gray eyes closed slightly revealing a malicious intent. "Why, I'm rather hurt, Abel. Me? Greeting someone like this? Why, I'm appalled my dear friend! It is only to you that I allow my body to be touched like this."
Abel laughed darkly; "Who is the one touching?"
"You are quite right my friend. I am doing all the work," the man leaned in closer to Abel, allowing his cool breathe to caress against his friends neck, "so you should work with me." A smile appeared upon the young Eleazar as his tongue slid against the pale skin of Abel.
It was in this sudden confusion that Eleazar was thrown back against the wall, his arms being held up against it, defenseless against the vicious man in front of him. Abel was baring his teeth, the sharp points of his canines completely revealed, and his ash-mauve eyes growing darker in his anger. "My, my, my," Eleazar laughed, "someone has indeed gotten much more defensive during the hundreds of years we spent with one another, right, dark God?"
Abel growled once more, a warning, and he unlatched his hand from his friend. He walked back to the entrance of the alley, and watched the hustle and bustle of the crowd just beyond him. "Things change, especially being with a man like you throughout most of my life." Abel began to fix his clothing, making sure the cuffs of his shirt were folded correctly, and straightened out his shirt.
"Ever since you've gotten yourself back into the life of women, your personality has become completely different."
"I've always been into women." Abel snarled, "Its just you fooled yourself into thinking that I was interested."
Eleazar sighed, keeping his eyes on Abel's broad shoulders. "You know," he began, "For old time's sake we could just snap one of their necks, and feed on them. There are so many here, they wouldn't realize one of them missing." Eleazar's eyes watched carefully at the man's face. A look of resentment was there, but Abel's friend couldn't understand why. For as long as Eleazar could remember, the hunt was a favorite past-time for his sadistic friend. Yet now, his face seemed to drop at the sound, and his eyes would become distant as if in deep thought. There was a spark in his eyes that used to shine in delight at the mention it, now, all there was left was a deep loathing in his eyes.
"When someone loves someone it's enough to drive a man, mad. It's the darkest days when you cannot have that person. It's so frustrating that you can't have that person. It's almost intoxicating when they smile, almost kills you when they are approached by others."
Eleazar couldn't help but look at him suspiciously, "What is it you're rambling on about?"
"I love someone Eleazar! She is the only thing that occupies my mind these days. There are times when I can't even feed because of that awful child!" There was a pain in Abel's face when he spoke of this girl. It was almost amusing how Eleazar saw his friend waver when it came to a child that had no idea he existed. "The arrow of Aphrodite has hit me." He whispered almost laboriously.
"Tell me, what is this child's name?"
Abel smiled briefly, "Cora."
"Hmm," he mused for a moment. "Perhaps you should approach her." Eleazar offered.
Abel snorted, his visage becoming entertained with his offer, "She'd run away."
"There are only several things you can do. You can stay here and suffer against the currents of this love, or you can approach her and claim her as yours." Eleazar shrugged, with a slight smile upon his lips, "It's your choice." His hand was gingerly set upon Abel's shoulder and left it there for a moment when he shrugged it off.
"There's nothing I can do about it." With that final sentence left hanging between them, he turned and walked down along the dark alleyway. Leaving his friend to his imagination; of course, Eleazar only knew too well what that man was going to do. Being a man himself he knew what this would come to, eventually the infatuation will consume the person, and make him act irresponsibly.
Oh, how he wanted to stop his friend from doing the unspeakable. But stopping that man was like asking the world to stop its revolutions around the sun.
"May I go now, mother?" The curiousness in her eyes was certainly evident. As Demeter opened her mouth to speak, the dear child hung on to every single syllable.
Demeter sighed, and brushed the skirt of her dress from, and looked at her daughters longing face, "Well, you must be back before the moon reached the middle sky. I beg you not to attract trouble my dear."
Cora made a face and tilted her head to the side, "Mother, I've not intentionally attracted trouble. It just comes to me." The girl smiled briefly before turning and wandering off towards the field which was hidden among a valley of trees. It was there that Cora and her mother used to take long, tranquil walks, where only the wind, trees, and rushing water spoke to them. Cora was absolutely sure, that if she were to die early, it would be here in this valley, only she did not expect to...face death so soon. But her wish would surely be granted if she so wanted it to. It was there that she would leave herself half dead, while the other half was beckoned and swooned to be left with the one that killed her.
When Cora was far enough away to a point where she could no longer see her house, she relaxed, and took a steady pace towards the field. The grass tickled her ankles and she smiled as they whispered sweet words. "What colors would mother most enjoy?" She questioned towards herself, browsing amongst the vivacious colors of the flowers. Her fingertips caressed the petals, but in the center of it all, there was a single, beautiful, purple flower. It swayed in the opposite direction, as if it was summoning the angelic girl. She lent down, and petted it softly, "My, what a beauty you are. And what is the name of this beautiful thing?" She petted black spotted, purple flower, not expecting an answer. She plucked it from its home, and there is when she heard the answer she longingly waited for.
"Narcissus," Cora looked up, horrified to see a dark figure approaching her. She hugged the flower carefully to her chest, and stepped back every step he approached her with. "That is the flowers name." The handsome man smiled warmly at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. His ash-mauve eyes were piercing her inner soul, she felt feeble and weak against stare of this man. She could only compare his eye color to that of the Narcissus flower. "That flower, I made it." His eyes were amused at Cora's amazed expression, but she snapped out of it all too quickly.
Cora swallowed hard, and shook her head, trying to snap herself out of the unbearable penetration his eyes were doing to her. "Why are you here?"
Another smile crept upon his lips, "I am here, because you are."
"My mother will get mad, I need to leave." As Cora turned from the strange man, feeling immediate relief that she was able to get away from him, she felt the hold of a steel-like grip on her arm. The flower was pressed much more closely up against her bosom, and she let out a gasp turning towards the man. Her eyes locked with his. He grabbed her chin, tilting her head to the point where there lips met.
"You are mine!" The man growled when their kiss was broken. Cora broke out of her daze, and screamed loudly. For those that heard the piercing scream, shuddered at the defenselessness and the dismay in it; it was only one person whose heart leapt at the sound, and made the grandest of assumptions.
Demeter immediately took flight. Like a mother bird trying to get to her darling children when they were in harm, this was Demeter rushing towards the sound of her daughter's horror-stricken shriek. When her mother arrived, she saw nothing but what was once there before: beautiful flowers, trees that surrounded the place, but there was one thing that was missing from this picture—Cora. "Cora!" Demeter screamed, running helplessly around, hoping that her daughter would jump out and say she was only kidding, but her desire never came true.
Her daughter had been taken, and she had no trail, nor a trace of where she had been taken to. It was as if Demeter had died in that moment. She felt so helpless. She fell on her knees and began to cry. She blamed herself for the loss. If she had only stopped Cora from going alone, or had at least went with her daughter, she could have at least protected her, had some kind of clue as to whom had took her. But there was no evidence, no answer to her tears and sobs. She was left alone, only to wonder where her only daughter had been abducted, and what this person would do to her. The thought had her aching on the inside.
A cold front was sent from the west, and the clouds shrouded the moon's illumination. There was incorrigible silence as the wind swept passed the agonizing mother. The trees whispered comfort for the poor woman, but nothing reached her, not even the bitter cold that intended to wake her up. There was nothing that could wake the lost mother up, until her daughter had been returned.
The harvest would soon end.
